Chapter 6 - The Digital Trap
The tactical police officers secured us tightly in handcuffs, completely ignoring Mr. Sterling’s calm attempts to explain.
We were placed aggressively in the back of real squad cars this time, the cold reality of the situation sinking in deeply.
Alexander sat directly beside me, his head hanging incredibly low in absolute, crushing shame.
"I lost everything tonight," he whispered into the terrifying darkness of the police vehicle.
"My career, my terrible marriage, and now my freedom."
I nudged his shoulder gently with mine, trying hard to offer him some needed comfort.
"You have absolutely not lost your mother," I reminded him fiercely and firmly.
"And as for the rest of your problems, you just need a little bit of patience."
At the busy police station, we were forcefully placed in a stark holding cell with peeling gray paint.
Mr. Sterling wisely used his one phone call to contact his elite team of corporate defense lawyers.
For three agonizing hours, we sat in complete silence while the complex gears of justice slowly turned outside our cell.
Suddenly, the heavy metal door clicked open, and a tired-looking detective walked in.
He did not look angry at all; he actually looked quite profoundly confused.
"We just received a highly interesting phone call from the federal cybercrimes division," the detective announced.
"It seems a major engineering firm across town just suffered a completely catastrophic network meltdown."
Mr. Sterling smirked knowingly and leaned back casually on the uncomfortable metal bench.
"Ewald arrogantly plugged the stolen drive directly into his company’s mainframe," I said clearly to Alexander.
The detective nodded slowly, holding up a thick, highly classified file folder.
"The drive contained a highly aggressive malware program that permanently locked their entire system," the detective explained.
"But before it locked them out completely, it automatically forwarded every single hidden file on Ewald’s secure server directly to the FBI."
Alexander’s jaw dropped entirely open.
"Wait, what kind of files are we talking about?" my son asked eagerly.
"Irrefutable evidence of massive money laundering, tax evasion, and a detailed plan to frame you for corporate fraud, Mr. Morgen," the detective replied respectfully.
The officers quickly uncuffed us, officially dropping the trespassing charges due to Mr. Sterling’s legal ownership of the building.
We walked freely out of the precinct as cleared citizens just as the beautiful morning sun began to rise.
The cool morning air felt crisp and victorious, but I knew the war was not entirely over yet.
Ewald’s corrupt company was effectively destroyed, but Bianca and Lydia were still out there somewhere.
Mr. Sterling’s sleek black car pulled up smoothly to the curb to safely take us home.
As we happily settled into the plush leather seats, my cell phone began to vibrate violently.
It was an unknown number, but I bravely answered it anyway.
"You think you are so incredibly clever, you worthless cleaning lady," Lydia’s voice hissed hatefully through the speaker.
"Lydia," I replied calmly. "I highly suggest you start packing your prison bags."
Lydia let out a maniacal, evil laugh that sent a horrible chill down my spine.
May you like
"I am absolutely not going anywhere," she said confidently.
"But you might desperately want to turn on the morning news, because Bianca just gave an exclusive live interview."
